Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Pride.
Warning! Cop out post ahead!
I had every intention of writing about the incredible pride I felt when I finished my degree in October 2000. But the weekend kind of got away from me for one reason or another. So I'll save that story for another time.
It was a really good show on Wednesday, with just a couple of exceptions.
Pam and I are loving how the kids have embraced all of the different styles. As we watch each dance, we can actually see through some of their struggles with choreography and style to how talented they really are. There were a couple of dances that we didn't understand because of the choreography, but all in all these kids are really entertaining. Top 12 through the end is going to be uber-competitive this season.
We'll start the encores with our favorite pair. Twitch pulled his own hip hop style out of the hat, and Kherington stepped up. The choreography told a fun story in a funky way. Twitchington brought the personality, technique, style, and performance.
Hip hop ruled on Wednesday as the dance of the night was Chelsie H and Mark with a stylish and emotional piece choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon.
We are so pleased with the addition of Tabitha and Napoleon to the show. The dances they are creating make hip hop accessible. They've taken a lot of the posturing out of it, replacing it with real story. I guess there's nothing wrong with the crotch-grabbing and trick-laden style...some of those tricks these kids can do are amazing. But I want to see dance with it, and T&N are pushing the kids to dance and not just throw a bunch of tricks.
The Top 16 group number to open the results show is an odd piece choreographed by Mia Michaels. We didn't understand that dance, but it was very cool and innovative.
First three couples up...Chelsea T & Thayne are in the bottom three after a tough Quickstep. But Katee & Joshua are safe, as are Chelsie H & Mark.
Next three couples...Kherington & Twitch make it through and YAY! Courtney & Gev also advance. Comfort & Chris were given an intriguing African jazz concept, but it missed and they are in the bottom three.
One of the last two pairs is safe and the other is in the bottom three. Jessica & Will are safe, which puts Kourtni & Matt in the bottom three. That's probably because the routine for K&M was just a bit too quirky and not terribly engaging for an audience.
Ryan, Dominic, & Hok from past seasons return with their Crew and prove that hip hop dancing with tricks is great when combined with innovative choreography and a cohesive story.
Solos...
Chelsea T - talented and great personality, but not standing out Thayne - technically outstanding, but something is missing Comfort - fantastic breaker, but not versatile enough Chris - very ordinary Kourtni - on her own, she is exciting Matt - wonderful lines and tremendous technique
As with last week, all three guys have similar skills. Chris is the weaker of the three technically, so we say he must go.
For the gals, hmmmmm. Both Chelsea and Kourtni are better technically, and Comfort's solo was just average. We'll say Comfort should go only because she's not as versatile as the other two.
So, we're just a little curious why an American Idol winner performed with a pre-recorded song track.
Here we go with the gals. Nigel tells Chelsea that it's the end of the road for her. We're a little surprised because we thought she deserved another week over Comfort.
Now the guys. Nigel tells Matt that his solo was brilliant and he is safe. Thayne is safe and will partner with Comfort next week, and Chris is out.
We think Chelsea and Chris are both excellent dancers. But they just didn't stand out from the rest...not with technical skill and not with personality.
Don't worry...I won't be offended if you scroll past the baseball to the dancing.
Congratulations to Fresno State. The Bulldogs beat Georgia 6-1 last night to win the College World Series 2 games to 1. Fresno State becomes the lowest seed to ever win a college national championship in any sport.
March Madness has its One Shining Moment, and the College World Series has This Town. The song is by O.A.R.
Welcome to the Top 16. Let's see what the kids have for us this week, shall we? We'll grade on the 1 to 10 scale for another week. But we will sneak a bit more commentary into it this time.
Judges this week are the ever-present Nigel Lythgoe, the screechy Mary Murphy, and choreographer Adam Shankman.
Kherington (18, jazz & contemporary) and Twitch (25, freestyle hip hop & breaker) dance hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo. We say 10. They have technique, personality, style, and performance. This pair has the whole package.
Courtney (19, contemporary & hip hop) and Gev (21, hip hop & breaker) dance Rumba choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melody Lapatin. Hmmmmm. Give her 8, give him 7. Technique was a little lacking, but the performance was enjoyable.
Comfort (20, hip hop) and Chris (21, lyrical & contemporary) dance jazz choreographed by Tyce Diorio. Call it 5. They were not up to the performance aspect of the choreography. And we didn't "get" the piece. Tyce gave them an interesting concept and they didn't bring it to life.
Jessica (23, contemporary) and Will (21, contemporary) dance disco choreographed by Doriana Sanchez. Give her 6, give him 10. She disappeared for us but we think he is brilliant. He can dance anything, and he's ready to be a featured dancer in any company right now.
Kourtni (18, jazz & contemporary) and Matt (22, contemporary) dance contemporary choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. Call it 8. The choreography was too quirky for us to understand, but we enjoyed the performance. They are both excellent technically.
Chelsea T (23, jazz funk & contemporary) and Thayne (27, contemporary) dance Quick Step choreographed by Heather Smith. Call it 6. No personality to balance out the lack of technique. This was an unfortunate style for them.
Chelsie H (18, Latin ballroom) and Mark (24, contemporary) dance hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon D'Umo. Call it 10. We haven't liked her, but she was great this week. And he is very intriguing. The choreography was amazing and the performance was fantastic.
Katee (20, contemporary) and Joshua (19, hip hop) dance Samba choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melody Lapatin. Give her 9, give him 8. There were some technique issues, but those were overcome by the personality and the performance. The choreography was outstanding and their chemistry was hot.
No change in our top 5 favorites this week. For us it's still Kherington & Twitch, Katee & Joshua, and Will. I will say that Chelsie H & Mark could sneak in there with the right choreography.
Results tonight. If you tune in you'll see a performance from American Idol season 6 winner Jordin Sparks.
I had a bunch of stuff rolling around in my head. And since I don't want to dwell on negative crap, I figured I'd subject y'all to it instead.
Bwahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!
Sorry about that! Do any of these things bug y'all?
People in vehicles who miss their turn, or find themselves in the wrong lane for a turn, and slow down so they can change lanes without any regard to the traffic behind them that has no idea what the hell they are trying to do.
People who walk into your office and immediately start talking to you, with no regard for whether you're in the middle of composing an email or focusing on some other problem you're trying to solve.
People who are late for meetings, and then don't apologize for it.
People who don't clearly explain what it is they want, and then bitch when they get my interpretation of what they asked for.
People who make it clear that they think what they are doing is more important that what I'm doing.
People who take credit for the team's success and don't share the accolades with the team.
People who don't say please, thank you, and you're welcome.
People who don't wash up after themselves in a communal office kitchen.
People who answer the question that was asked with a litany of excuses as to why they weren't able to do what was asked.
Well! I certainly feel better getting all that out. Don't you?
Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Night.
Isn't that graphic up there one of the finest and most beautiful you've ever seen? I think it is. I told Mo that if I had never participated in Manic Monday before, I would this time just so I could put that graphic on my post.
Back when I was an infant blogger, I posted what I think is one of my best poems. I had few readers back then. So today I'm taking the opportunity to combine the great graphic above with my words from so long ago.
DESPAIR TO EVOLVE by Travis Cody
Disparaging Where hides sense and logic on a crystal blue morn Fluttered away in the autumn mist forever and utterly shorn
Ranting How measure courtesy blocked and passed from sight Harried soul bereft of kindness bound forever to a sea of midnight
Raging Who calls another simple does himself most harm and hurt Ego lies while friendships die and blow away like fallow dirt
Screaming What does a road save guide and direct a pointless trail Marred and broken signs steal progress; we march on to no avail
Despairing When can a thing end that is not yet begun Dreams measured against reality barter life from songs unsung
Evolving Why ponder useless questions if true knowledge is sparingly doled To feed the lust of ages before all breath grows forever cold
From ESPN.com, Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press...
ENGLISHTOWN, N.J. -- Scott Kalitta died Saturday when his Funny Car crashed and burst into flames during qualifying for the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park.
State police confirmed that the 46-year-old Kalitta, a two-time Top Fuel champion who had 18 career victories, was killed in the accident.
Witnesses told The Star-Ledger of Newark that Kalitta's Toyota Solara was traveling at an estimated speed of 300 mph when the crash occurred.
The Palmetto, Fla., resident started his career at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park in 1982. His father, Connie Kalitta, was a longtime driver and team owner known as "The Bounty Hunter," and his cousin, Doug Kalitta, also drives competitively.
My mom has always been a huge fan of Top Fuel and Funny Car racing. I grew up hearing the names "T.V. Tommy" Ivo, Connie "Bounty Hunter" Kalitta, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Chris "The Golden Greek" Karamesines, Shirley Muldowney, and "Flamin'" Frank Pendregon.
That familiarity continue through the 80s and 90s with names like John Force, Kenny Bernstein, Tony & Cruz Pendregon, Doug & Scott Kalitta.
Mom's love of drag racing never really took with me, although I still know the names these days. Lots of times my Sunday calls catch her watching the drags, and she'll make sure I get the updates.
Her favorite driver is John Force, and she's a big fan of Ashley Force too. But she has a soft spot for the Kalittas, and I immediately thought of her when I heard the news.
Just a quick word about binoodles before we begin. That's what Mia Michaels said at the top of the show Wednesday, and I didn't give you any context.
DOH! Sorry about that!
If I understood correctly binoodles means outrageous, smokin' hot, off the hook, out of control, sick, insane, and whatever other words the cool kids use these days to describe excitement. That was the expectation Mia had for the show on Wednesday.
So now we have our new blog word for HOT HOT HOT stuff...binoodles!
Pam and I enjoyed many individual performances on Wednesday, which is why we split most of our 1 to 10 grading into his and hers awards. There were really only two pairs who stood out for us.
First up, Katee & Joshua got the Broadway card this week. Tyce Diorio made a dance that utilized both of their strengths, and gave them equal chance to shine. We didn't get to see much of Katee's audition journey. The only thing we saw was the final cut, when she irked the judges by suggesting that she wouldn't try out again if she didn't make Top 20 this season. She has more than redeemed herself...she's a star. And Joshua is more than just your average poppin' B-boy. He's got tons of talent and a bit of training. His lines are smooth. We're curious to see how good his partnering skills are when they fall into a ballroom style, but we suspect he will do just fine. Katee & Joshua are one of our couples to beat at this stage.
Next we have Kherington & Twitch dancing a Viennese Waltz. When we heard the dance style, our first thought was YIKES! But Jean-Marc Genereaux has a knack for tweaking the standard ballroom styles, mixing international with American influences and creating beautiful stories. And he did so with this Waltz, which ended up looking nothing like a typical Viennese. It was more like a contemporary lyrical piece, with waltz overtones. And it was beautiful...in the movement, in the story, and in the emotion. Kherington is an absolute star. She pulls the viewer right up into the joy of the dance with her. As for Twitch, this young man is a free style street dancer creating amazing lines with the grace, movement, and emotion of a trained contemporary artist. This dance is simply outstanding and this pair is our favorite.
So let's get us some results.
Who gets safe first? Katee & Joshua...no big surprise there. Kherington & Twitch get through also, which puts Chelsea & Thayne in the bottom three couples. So our two favorites ease on through to next week.
What about the next group of three couples? Chelsie & Mark are safe, as are Kourtni & Matt. And Jessica & Will also make it through! YAY for Will! He's our third favorite guy so far in the show. Mark is one of the guys we think is a sleeper.
That means two pairs out of the last three will end up dancing solos to impress the judges and stay on the show.
Joining the safe side is Courtney & Gev.
The bottom three couples are Chelsea & Thayne, Susie & Marquis, and Comfort & Chris.
How did they do?
Chelsea, good Thayne, good Susie, meh Marquis, excellent Comfort, very good Chris, meh
For the gals, we think it's an easy choice...Susie. For the guys, they are all similar in style which makes it a straight comparison...Thayne and Marquis were stronger, so we say Chris is out.
Here's the result.
Nygel tells Chelsea she must step up to standard with the better dancers as she advances. He tells Susie that she didn't use the stage as well as she should have and she's not lighting the stage up. Finally, Nygel tells Comfort that she hasn't found her potential on the show although she came alive in the group number, and she is safe because of that.
Which means that Susie is out, as we thought.
Nygel tells Thayne that he is a great personality and spirit with potential. He says that Marquis might have been all tricks and not enough dance. He tells Chris that he finally is bringing out his personality and passion for dance.
Difficult choice when all three are so similar, but Marquis goes home for too many tricks regardless of how good they were.
That means that no partnerships have been broken yet. Tune in next week if you love dance!
Here's a bit of Wade Robson from last week's Top 20 group number to open the first results show. This was Wade's "gotcha" for some unfavorable comments Nygel Lithgoe made about one of Wade's dances from last season.
Judges last night were the constant Nygel Lythgoe, the excitable Mary Murphy, and guest judge Emmy winner Mia Michaels.
Mia said binoodles. I don't know how to spell it, but it's a great word!
Now I'm doing the 1 to 10 scale again.
Chelsea T (23, jazz funk & contemporary) and Thayne (27, contemporary) dance jazz choreographed by Mandy Moore. Call it 5.
Chelsie H (18, Latin ballroom) and Mark (24, contemporary) dance Argentine Tango choreographed by Alex da Silva. Chelsie gets 7, Mark gets 8.
Jessica (23, contemporary) and Will (21, contemporary) dance hip hop choreographed by Cecily & Olisa. Jessica gets 7, Will gets 9.
Kourtni (18, jazz & contemporary) and Matt (22, contemporary) dance Fox Trot choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereaux. Kourtni gets 8, Matt gets 9.
Courtney (19, contemporary & hip hop) and Gev (21, hip hop & breaker) dance contemporary choreographed by Mandy Moore. Courtney gets 7, Gev gets 8.
Katee (20, contemporary) and Joshua Allen (19, hip hop) to dance broadway choreographed by Tyce Diorio. That's a 10!
Susie (25, Latin/salsa) and Marquis (18 lyrical & contemporary) dance Salza choreographed by Alex da Silva. Call it 6.
Kherington (18, jazz & contemporary) and Twitch (25, freestyle hip hop & breaker) to dance Viennese Waltz choreographed by Jean-Marc Genereaux. That's a 10! Yes, these are our favorites, and this partnership is amazing.
Comfort (20, hip hop) and Chris (21, lyrical & contemporary) dance Krump choreographed by Lil'C. Comfort gets 9, Chris gets 8.
Who were our favorites? That would be Kherington & Twitch and Katee & Joshua. Both Kherington and Katee are such amazing performers...stars on stage. Twitch and Joshua are supposed to be breakers and poppers, and yet the mastery of technique has been terrific.
Again...we've got no idea how America is likely to vote, so we're not picking a bottom. You can see the rankings and figure out who we didn't like.
Tune in tonight for results and you'll see a Top 18 group routine choreographed by Shane Sparks.
Cyd Charisse died today from an apparent heart attack. She was 87.
I'm on record as saying that I don't really care for dance styles that are heavy on posing. But when you make it look this beautiful, romantic, and effortless...then by all means please pose.
She danced with the very best, and should be counted among the very best herself.
This is why I love dance shows. There is talent like this in today's modern world. It's just dancing a different style. And it needs a venue to be seen.
Well, my Lakers couldn't man up against Boston's ferocious defense. They swarmed Kobe and the other guys just didn't make enough plays to take the pressure off him.
As well as Boston played, it was a piss poor showing in an elimination game by the Lakers. What was the point of even flying across country if they weren't going to bother to compete?
And so the Celtics are champs, winning the Finals 4 games to 2.
Ppppppppfffffffffftttttttttttt.
Even though these Finals ended in disappointment for Lakers fans, we can still celebrate an outstanding season and positive prospects for 2008-09. Kobe is the reigning NBA MVP, the core of this team is young and under contract, and there is every chance to think that Andrew Bynum will rehab well and that he can be a dominant center in this league for many years.
Thus completes year 33 for me as a Lakers fan. I'm looking forward to year 34.
So last Saturday we bit the gasoline price bullet, filled up the tank, packed some snacks, and took off for the coast. We put around 500 miles on the Liberty. We did get about 23mpg, which is great. But I had to fill up the tank twice, once at $4.35 per and then again in the afternoon at $4.39 per.
I suspect that when I fill it up again later this week that I'll be paying over $4.50 per. **sigh** I also suspect that our next trip just may be by train.
Anyway, we travelled south on I-5 to Olympia where we cut west on Hwy 8 toward Aberdeen and Hoquiam. We didn't have much traffic at all, which made things enjoyable. I put the cruise control on 65 and we turned up the tuneage.
As we got to the coast, we picked up Hwy 109 out to Ocean Shores.
Here's a bit of what we saw.
We parked in the lot at the entrance to the beach, and then walked up a little side trail to get a better look at all the kites.
Although there was quite a bit of gray and overcast throughout the day, there was also plenty of bright blue sky.
Now they aren't kidding either! We drove some of the escape route...it's a two lane road and if you start from this sign, you're in some trouble because there is no high ground nearby. If the horn goes off when you're standing here, drop your stuff and grab your loved ones...and run inland as fast as you can. You might get lucky.
Although, the last time a tsunami hit the coast of Washington was in 1964 after the Great Alaska earthquake.
This is a beach where you can drive out onto the sand and park.
It wasn't really quiet, but we did still get the sound of these waves. They didn't exactly crash onto the beach, nor does it look like this is a surfing beach.
Neither Pam nor I are much for horseback riding, although we do both love horses. I can think of several blogging pals who would love to ride one of these horses along the shoreline.
It was chilly and quite windy at the beach, so we ate our sammiches and then climbed back into the Liberty for some driving along beautiful roads that looked like this.
We finished the trip driving the 101 loop around Olympic National Forest. This is skirting around the edge of the forest in the south Puget Sound. And those are bug stains on the windshield.
It was a long trip...500 miles and about 10 hours. But we had a great day.
Welcome to another Manic Monday with Morgen. Don't forget to cruise by MM HQ at It's A Blog Eat Blog World. Today's theme is Will.
The word Will does appear in my post. But I also had some other thoughts on my mind.
I'm a little out of sorts. It's made me a bad blogging buddy because I haven't kept up with blog rounds lately.
I did clear out my reader today. I visited as many of you as I could. I realized that the ease of using Google Reader has allowed me to add many more blogs that I really enjoy. Of course, that means that there are so many more posts to view every day. And it's tough to keep up. Some of you are quite prolific.
I started blogging because it looked like a great way to share some of my writing. I've done some of that, but not enough to say that's why I still blog. There are lots of cool writing challenges and memes out there. I say I want to participate, but then there's always some reason that I don't do it.
I guess I'm a bit discombobulated at the moment.
Having so many posts stacked up in the Reader is intimidating and it makes me feel like I'm letting my own visitors down. I don't blog to feel like that.
So what to do?
Do I cut back on the number of blogs to which I've subscribed? Do I take another blog break until this little funk passes? Has blogging run it's course, and do I need to move away from it?
Maybe. Maybe. I don't think so.
So what?
I guess I just need to remember that I blog for me. Blogging is something I enjoy. And I guess my blog pals will have to understand that sometimes I'm just not going to be able to get to your blogs every day, and I will miss some of your posts.
I enjoy being part of this community. I will try to be the best blog buddy that I can be, but not at the expense of taking long drives on the weekend with my Lady. Or taking her out to dinner without the Google Reader nag in the back of my head reminding me that posts are backing up. Or not posting for a day or two and worrying that my visitors won't come back.
Silly? Yeah. But if you haven't felt the same thing at some point in your blogging career, well then I guess you're a different kind of blogger than I am.
So I'm going to think about this place called Travs Thoughts. I'm going to think about it and try to figure out how to make my blogging experience a bit less chore-like, and return it to the enjoyable time it has been in the past.
I'm not going away...at least I don't think that's an option. But I'm going to re-align a bit and make things a bit easier on myself.
There will be a game 6 in Boston. The Lakers survived a lot of poor defensive play and managed to get the win to force the series back east.
The Celtics are playing much more relaxed. They held off the Lakers in game 2, nearly stole game 3, made a historical come back in game 4, and very nearly stole game 5. That's what champions do.
The Lakers are playing not to lose games. Champions don't do that. I can only hope that they get it together somehow and will play like champions in game 6 on Tuesday.
But even if they don't, at least there will be no green and white celebrations on the Lakers' home floor.
Now my Lakers are in a huge hole. They stormed out to a 24 point lead in the first half, led by 20 in the third quarter, and then wilted under another tremendous defensive effort from Boston.
So now the Lakers are down 3 games to 1 and face a must win on Sunday, followed by two potential close out games in Boston. It doesn't look good for the purple and gold.
Yeah, I'm bummed. But it's not over until one team gets 4 wins and that hasn't happened yet. So I'll just be over here believing that my Lakers can win the next 3 games in a row.
Don't laugh! It could happen.
As I said in yesterday's post, I'm not quite ready for the full treatment yet. I did finally find photographs of the dancers. But I haven't learned enough about their bios and I'm just not ready to recap so many dancers.
I didn't even give the show its own post yesterday!
But what I can do is share clips of our three favorite performances from Wednesday. And to Dick Clark Productions, which entity is pulling a bunch of these clips off of YouTube and citing copyright infringement, I say that I'm not out to make a profit! I love the dancing and I just want to share it.
This is the tango from Jessica (23, contemporary) and Will (21, contemporary). Jessica and Will are two extremely well trained dancers. You can see it in the way they pulled the technique together for this performance tango. The choreography was really difficult...particularly the lift at the end. They made everything look effortless. They showed the drama and the passion of the tango. Jessica had a few wobbles, otherwise this was a perfect dance.
Kherington (18, jazz & contemporary) and Twitch (25, freestyle hip hop & breaker) call themselves Twitchington and we love that! It shows that they have a chemistry together, which really came across in their broadway routine. Tyce Diorio's choreography emphasized both of their strengths while staying true to the over-the-top performance style of a broadway production number. The music suited them, and they showed that they can complement each other's individual style in a partnership.
We thought the dance of the night belonged to Katee (20, contemporary) and Joshua (19, hip hop). We're not normally fans of hip hop, but this dance was so beautifully crafted and they performed the story so flawlessly. We were hooked at the first movement and they sustained that interest throughout. It helped that Joshua was in his hip hop element, but we get the feeling that he is going to be comfortable in most styles. And Katee redeemed herself after emotion got the better of her and she suggested to the judges that she wouldn't try again if she didn't make top 20 this year. She was outstanding.
It's always tough to get cut, but this first elimination is probably one of the worst.
For the bottom three couples, the judges decided that they were among the 20 dancers they thought had a chance to become America's favorite. They made it to Hollywood along with 14 other dancers, and then met the reality of finding chemistry with a partner they barely knew to dance in a style that probably wasn't their own. They trained and rehearsed with professional choreographers who had a vision and who expected them to dance it. Then they rehearsed for hours with their new partners.
Then came all the attendant obligations that accrue to a competitor on the show, and then costume fittings and dress rehearsal and last minute stage direction. Then it's action and they take the stage for 90 to 120 seconds of performance followed by another couple of minutes listening to the judges.
And then comes the hope that America liked it enough to pick up the phone and vote.
And then the next night, two dancers have to go home. They haven't gotten much exposure, and they'll probably go back to class or a day job, and continue to toil away trying to make it through that one audition that gets them into a music video or on a stage somewhere.
Of course, I'm just speculating. Only one of these 20 dancers is going to be America's favorite. The other 19 are going to be eliminated, and somebody has to go out first.
The bottom three were Kourtni & Matt, Rayven & Jamie, and Jessica & Will.
Sometimes a couple doesn't connect with the voters, for whatever reason. Jessica & Will could be one of those couples. They were one of our favorites on Wednesday, and they earned universal praise from the judges. I suspect they will both be saved.
After each dancer gets a chance to solo, the judges do decide to save Jessica & Will despite her sub-par solo, along with Kourtni & Matt.
So the first dancers elminated this season are Rayven & Jamie.
If space craft from other words are visiting earth, why hasn't SETI (the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) found evidence of it in radio waves? If alien space craft are flying around Earth and the solar system, shouldn't they be filling space with their alien noise?
Yesterday was National German Chocolate CAKE Day. I know! I can't believe I would have missed it. But dear Julie reminded me. Thanks Jules!
Yesterday was also the 2nd anniversary of my first date with Pam. We made a nice stir fry with chicken and broccoli, and served it over brown rice. Yum-OH!
But we didn't have any CAKE.
We will be going to the coast this weekend. YAY! We haven't decided if we're going to stay the night. But we definitely need to get out of town. We haven't actually decided on a route yet. Looks like we'll have to consult our trusty road atlas.
I'm not ready to do a full on review, but I'm really happy to settle back in with a new set of dancers. My excitement for So You Think You Can Dance is much different than for Dancing with the Stars.
DWTS is about celebrities and professional ballroom dancers. It's pure fluff and entertainment, and it makes no pretense to be anything else. Sure the celebrities and the pros want to win. But there's nothing at stake other than personal pride, and maybe the resurgence of a career or two.
SYTYCD is about dancers. Some of them are working professionally. For others it was their first audition experience. Others come from a street dancing background. Still others are classically trained.
But they are all trying to make careers out of dance. And 20 of them have made it onto the show, where America will watch and vote for their favorite.
Wait! Let's have a shout for Cat Deeley and her LEGS LEGS LEGS LEGS LEGS!!! And Vinny! Did you see the shoes?
Judges last night were Dan Karaty, Mary Murphy, and Nygel Lithgoe. I know I said I wasn't ready for a full on review, but I'm watching anyway so I'll grade on a scale of 1 to 10.
Rayven Armijo (28, ballet & contemporary) is paired with Jamie Bayard (22, west coast swing) to dance hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. Call it a 5.
Susie Garcia (25, Latin/salsa) is paired with Marquis Cunningham (18 lyrical & contemporary) to dance smooth waltz choreographed by Hunter Johnson. Call it a 7.
Kourtni Lind (18, jazz & contemporary) is paired with Matt Dorame (22, contemporary) to dance jazz choreographed by Mandy Moore. Call it a 7.
Chelsea Traille (23, jazz funk & contemporary) is paired with Thayne Jasperson (27, contemporary) to dance Cha Cha Cha choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin. Call it an 8.5 thanks to Chelsea.
Chelsie Hightower (18, Latin ballroom) is paired with Mark Kanemura (24, contemporary) to dance contemporary choreographed by Emmy winner Mia Michaels. Call it 9.
Kherington Payne (18, jazz & contemporary) is paired with Stephen "Twitch" Boss (25, freestyle hip hop & breaker) to dance broadway choreographed by Tyce Diorio. Call it a 9.
Comfort Fedoke (20, hip hop) is paired with Chris Jarosz (21, lyrical & contemporary) to dance Jive choreographed by Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin. Call it 6.
Katee Shean (20, contemporary) is paired with Joshua Allen (19, hip hop) to dance hip hop choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. Call it 10.
Jessica King (23, contemporary) is paired with Will Wingfield (21, contemporary) to dance Tango choreographed by Hunter Johnson. Call it 9. Her wobbles kept that from being 10.
Courtney Galiano (19, contemporary & hip hop) is paired with Gev Manoukian (21, hip hop & breaker) to dance disco choreographed by Doriana Sanchez. Call it 7.
Results are tonight. Watch it and you'll get a chance to see a group dance choreographed by Wade Robson, who won an Emmy for his work on the show last season.
I can report that Pam and I thought our three favorites were Katee & Joshua, Kherington & Twitch, and Jessica & Will.
I can also report that this is an extremely talented group of dancers.
I won't be suggesting a bottom 3 because there's just no telling who America is going to like.
My Lakers needed my full attention last night, so I didn't make my normal rounds. I'll catch up with y'all when I can.
We've got our Top 20 dancers for season 4. We've got 10 boys and 10 girls. As usual, the dancers come from all over the spectrum of dance styles. They will be performing for votes beginning tonight on FOX, with the first two eliminated tomorrow night.
Here they are in the order in which the judges put them through, with their ages and primary styles.
Courtney Galiano - 19, contemporary & hip hop Chelsie Hightower - 18, Latin Susie Garcia - 25, Latin/salsa Chelsea Traille - 23, jazz funk & contemporary Kourtni Lind - 18, jazz & contemporary Joshua Allen - 19, hip hop Stephen Boss (Twitch) - 25, freestyle hip hop & breaker Kherington Payne - 18, jazz & contemporary Rayven Armijo - 28, ballet & contemporary Matt Dorame - 22, contemporary Thayne Jasperson - 27, contemporary Marquis Cunningham - 18 lyrical & contemporary Mark Kanemura - 24, contemporary Comfort Fedoke - 20, hip hop Jamie Bayard - 22, west coast swing Chris Jarosz - 21, lyrical & contemporary Jessica King - 23, contemporary William Wingfield - 21, contemporary Gev Manoukian - 21, hip hop & breaker Katee Shean - 20, contemporary
I'll say right now that my favorite going in is Twitch. He was the last guy eliminated during auditions in season 3 when the judges picked Hok to continue. Twitch came back this season stronger than ever.
That's a combination of innate talent and personality, which has to be why I like him because I'm generally not drawn to hip hop style. But the guy also impressed the judges doing different choreography too, which means he spent the year going to class to improve. That's dedication, and I respect that.
That's the Larry O'Brien trophy, and it goes to the winner of the NBA Finals. And I don't like the trend over the last few years of the NBA having players pose with it during the playoffs. You don't get your hands on that unless you win it. And if you haven't won it, you shouldn't be posing with it.
The Lakers played with the right amount of desperation in game 3 last night. This time, LA was the aggressor early, establishing a rhythm and controlling tempo. The bench players had lots of energy and contributed effectively. Kobe had a great night as a scorer and facilitator.
Boston struggled early, but managed to keep the game close with another solid defensive effort. Once the shots started to fall, the Celtics tried to take control and led at the end of the 3rd quarter, mainly on the strength of an outstanding game from Ray Allen.
It wasn't easy, but the Lakers ultimately got the win.
Even so, they must get consistent contributions from Gasol and Odom, both of whom played better in the final minutes of the game, in order to win out in LA and have a chance at one out of two in Boston. The Celtics will adjust their defense to more effectively double team Kobe. The rest of the Lakers have to make them pay for that, otherwise the parade will be in Boston and not Los Angeles.
But for today, I'm happy and confident that my boys will tie up the series tomorrow night and look to take a 3 games to 2 lead over the weekend.
I had some technical glitches, so I haven't been able to see nearly as many Peace Globes and posts as I wanted. But I know they are out there, and I thank all of you who participated even if I didn't get a chance to see what you did.
May you remember the feelings you had on 4 June as you cruised around the bloggosphere, and may those feelings guide us all to actively pursue peace in our daily lives.
